来自古法语portraire,描绘，描画，来自por-,向前，traire,拉，来自拉丁语trahere,拉，词源同draw,drawing,tract.字面意思即向前拉，延展，引申词义描绘，描画等。拼写可能受tray影响俗化。

1. He has worked hard in recent months to portray New York in a better light.

最近几个月里他努力从更积极的角度来描绘纽约。

2. That's what we tried to portray in the book, this feeling of opulence and grandeur.

那就是我们在书中竭力描绘的——一种富丽堂皇的气派。

3. It is still not considered proper to portray Christ in a play or film.

人们仍然认为在戏剧或电影中再现基督的形象是不妥当的.

4. It would be wrong to portray his life as a calculated ascent to power at any cost.

如果把他的一生描述成不惜任何代价一心想向上爬，那就错了。

5. Now, as for the Democrats, they've been able to use this issue quite effectively to portray the president as insensitive.

然而，对民主党人来说，他们成功利用了这个问题来渲染总统的麻木不仁。